Now that Lorwyn Eclipsed has been fully revealed, players are sitting back and taking in everything this new set has to offer. For the most part, the reception has been hugely positive so far. Players are loving the return to a more traditional MTG world, and the new cards are plenty exciting as well. Unfortunately, as is always the case, no set can please everyone. Lorwyn Eclipsed has some glaring flaws, one in particular being the limited pool of support it offers for Faerie Typal. Given that this was a major component of the original Lorwyn block, this change is rubbing many players up the wrong way.
A Poor Showing For Faerie Typal In Lorwyn Eclipsed?
“So the lack of Faeries in Lorwyn Eclipsed… Is there any explanation for that, or just decided to focus on other things? I waited close to a decade for a return to Lorwyn set, even used to ask you every year on my birthday about if/when return to Lorwyn for my Faeries, and I’m nauseatingly upset about this.”
Eschaton-the-imminent, via Blogatog
Over the last few days, a number of MTG players have taken to social media to bemoan the lack of Faerie Typal support in Lorwyn Eclipsed. From Escaton-the-imminent on Blogatog, to Mastermiine on the r/magicTCG subreddit, it’s one of the key recurring complaints about the set so far.
These complaints are chiefly directed at the low volume of support Faeries got in the set. There are only 11 new Faeries in the set in total, and only two of these, Illusion Spinners and Maralen, Fae Ascendant, care about you running other Faeries in your deck. There are some more generic typal support pieces, like Eclipsed Realms, but even with these included, the total is underwhelming.
Perhaps even more important is the low power level of the Faerie support on offer here. Outside of a few key rares and mythics, the bulk of it seems destined for Commander decks or Limited lists. While this is often the case with themes in Magic sets, it’s particularly painful here.
In comparison, the Faerie Typal support in original Lorwyn was so powerful that it won a World Championship. Some players don’t look back on the deck fondly, due to it being a bit of an oppressive metagame force at the time. Regardless, this was a large part of Lorwyn’s legacy, and it looks like it won’t be recreated. This, inevitably, is disappointing for long-time Lorwyn fans.
Unfortunate Realities
Unfortunate as it is, the lack of Faerie Typal support in Lorwyn Eclipsed is an inevitable product of circumstances. The set had the unenviable task of capturing everything that made the original four-set block special in just 273 cards. This was a monumental challenge, as Head Designer Mark Rosewater has mentioned several times on Blogatog. With a ton of different mechanics and creature types all striving for space, there just wasn’t room for Faeries to spread their wings like last time.
This isn’t a single-type issue, either. Other players online have noted the lack of support for other types like Treefolk, for example. The types chosen for the set’s typal Draft archetypes, Merfolk, Goblins, etc., fare a little better. Even there, however, things aren’t great.
With Universes Beyond going from strength to strength, and blocks pretty much off the table, I suspect this is an issue we’ll continue to see in future return sets. Each multi-block plane will need to be boiled down to fit in a single set, while also fitting in story content and new elements. If we do return to Alara, as has been hinted at recently, it may well suffer from the same issues we’re seeing in Lorwyn Eclipsed right now.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew!